Search

In the United States, the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure limit appellate briefs to 14,000 words. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals recently faced a case where one of the parties had submitted an 18,000 word brief. The court issued an order to show cause why the brief should not be “stricken and/or sanctions imposed for failing to comply with Rule 32 and making a false representation to the court.” The court heard argument that the error was inadvertent. The court rejected that argument. In a decision written by Justice Posner, this stern warning was issued:

The flagrancy of the violation in this case might well justify the dismissal of the appeal: let this be a warning. But in addition it is plain from the briefs that the appeal has no merit. To allow time for the appellants to file a compliant brief and the appellees to file a revised brief in response, and to reschedule oral argument, would merely delay the inevitable. The motion to file an oversized brief is denied and the judgment of the district court summarily AFFIRMED.

Disclaimer

Posts. The views expressed here are solely the authors' and should not be attributed to Hicks Morley Hamilton Stewart Storie LLP or its clients. The material and information provided on this website are for general information only and should not, in any respect, be relied on as legal advice or opinion. The authors make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of any information linked or referred to or contained herein. No person should act or refrain from acting in reliance on any information found on this website or blog, without first retaining counsel and obtaining appropriate professional advice from a lawyer duly licensed to practice law in the relevant jurisdiction. These materials do not constitute legal advice and do not create a lawyer-client relationship between you and any of the authors or Hicks Morley. The authors act only on behalf of management. They welcome management-side inquires, but interested persons should not send any information about their matters to the authors in initial communications and before they have had a chance to complete a conflict check. Comments. Comments published on this site do not reflect the views of the authors or Hicks Morley.